Healthvana Demonstration Project

In 2015, HRSA funded 10 demonstration sites and 1 evaluation and technical assistance center (ETAC) under the Use of Social Media to Improve Engagement, Retention, and Health Outcomes along the HIV Care Continuum SPNS Initiative. Howard Brown Health (HBH), one of the largest service providers for sexual and gender minority individuals in the Midwest, in partnership with Northwestern University, was awarded a demonstration site grant to use Healthvana to improve engagement and retention in HIV care. Healthvana is an innovative platform that clients can use to interact with their healthcare records and providers, and which has already been implemented into HIV service activities at HBH. The Healthvana social media intervention will engage young men who have sex with men and trans women of color aged 13 to 34 who are patients at HBH. This intervention will target individuals who have dropped out of HIV care, were never engaged in care, are unaware of their HIV-positive status, or are not virally suppressed.